At first listen, Special Forces sounds like Sigur Ros stepping out of the ether for some bracing piano-driven techno pop. Julian sings like Jonsi and on "Freezing in Haunted Water" he sounds a lot like the high Thom Yorke vocal part in "I Will." This is derivativeness, sure enough, but it's the sort that's tempered with a sonic innovation that wears its Kid A influences in a rolled-up sleeve.

I had been wondering when we'd see the first of the post-Sigur Ros releases to emerge. It's been several years since Iceland's finest wowed listeners just about everywhere and I always imagined that the result would be an avalanche of artists trying to recreate the feeling of being swept up in the epic, weepy tones of bowed guitars and reverb-drenched organs. Julian Fane, a 21-year old Canadian solo artist is the fist thing I've heard that immediately more

The word "ethereal" has been much over-used by music journalists. Yet, since it means variously "light", "celestial" and "airy", there is no better adjective to describe Julian Fane's extraordinary album.

This is all the more unlikely given that the 21-year-old Canadian takes his lead from avant-garde electronica, a sound often inclined towards abrasiveness. Fane's pieces are grounded in glitchy percussion, but great swathes of strings, more

With an unexpected turn from the signature breakcore sound of Planet Mu, Canada's 21 year old, Julian Fane, unfurls a stunning debut that belies his years. Taking hints from the epic and lush sounds of Sigur Ros to the fuzzed out sounds of Fennesz and the wailing voice of Thom Yorke, Fane constructs droned out electronic music with a heartbeat. Using dense layers of rolling drums, guitar swells, melodic pianos, haunting chimes, somber cellos & vocals more